Watch: Wales over-60s cricket team sing Yma o Hyd in India
The Wales Over-60s men’s cricket team have travelled to India, where they will be competing in the senior World Cup.
Alongside playing matches, the team also performed some Welsh classics at a special event in India at the British Deputy High Commission in Chennai.
The cricket team sang Yma O Hyd, Calon Lân and Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau at the party, which saw the Welsh contingent of the crowd joining in with the players.
Huw Owen, the team’s media manager, from Cardiff, said: “We cannot believe it, we keep pinching ourselves – it is hard to think at this age that we would have such amazing opportunities.
“It makes myself – and the team – proud to be able to sing Dafydd Iwan’s Yma O Hyd, it’s such a great opportunity.”
The Welsh Government has announced that 2024 is the year of Wales in India. Year-long celebrations will bring the two countries together through a series of events, stories and activities which celebrate the two cultures.
The International Masters Cricket (IMC) Over-60s World Cup takes place every two years, with Wales’ over-60s finishing fifth last time out in Australia.
Members of the Welsh team have already expressed belief that they can do better than last time but will face tough competition from the likes of England, current holders Pakistan, and Australia.
Huw said: “Since we arrived in India it has been amazing. Training has been hard – it was 32 degrees during our training session, but there was no breeze. In Wales, we have been practicing in the stormy weather so it will take some time to get used to. The team is so proud to represent Wales in India. It is about representing Wales and our unique nation.
The 61-year-old added: “We saw the effect the Welsh football team had on the world, and we also see this as a way to put Wales on the map. It is a tremendous opportunity to show our language and heritage on a big stage and it makes us proud to be here. The people in India do live and breathe cricket, it’s an incredible country.”
Interim CEO at Cricket Wales, Mark Frost, said: “Having toured India several times, it is a country where you need to get to grips with the conditions in many ways compared to being back home in Wales.
This group of players have given a lot to the game and to see them having this experience is very pleasing and a great reward for all of them.”
For the latest news and updates on Wales in India, follow @WalesInIndia on twitter and Wales in India on LinkedIn
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Although any rendition of Yma o Hyd would stir the passion of most Welshmen & woman, how ironic that we in Wales will have to wait until we reach the milestone of pension age to represent our country Wales in cricket. And thanks to selfish Glamorgan County Cricket’s crazed ideology that means they have a pathological obsession of denying Wales the right to field its own national cricket side largely out of self-interest & scaremongering, which means if you are a gifted child growing up in Wales are denied your birthright to play for your country where if English, Scottish… Read more »
I agree totally that we should field our own international cricket teams at all levels of the game. I must point out though that Cricket Wales does field sides at over 40, over 50, over 60 and over 70.